Durango Diner Catches Fire!!

Just walked down to find our original greasy spoon had caught fire!
For those in the know, the Diner is where you eat, for great green chile, and awsome kitchen sink omelets. Gary takes care of you, the coffee is black and the walls are littered with sports memorabilia and other mementos.

From what I could get out of a cop there was a fire in either the vent system or the electrical and they tore out drywall and what looked like two of the hoods above the grills.

I took some pictures but my uplink is screwed right now. The Herald will probably have a report soon.

This is hands down the best greasy spoon ever, this really bums me out, I've been going there since I was five.

Looks like Bob Roll will be a bit slimmer during next year's Tour De France broadcasts. With the diner closed he'll probably drop 20 pounds.

Quote:

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Originally posted by CaddyDaddy77
the coffee is littered with sports memorabilia and other mementos and the walls are black.

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Must have been some blaze.

Shitty...The diner is the best meeting place for a group ride evAr!

I didn't get to see how bad the damage really was, they weren't letting anyone get too close, just judging by the stuff on the sidewalk, it was only the back wall, but I'm not sure.

Bobke, will lose some weight this winter, he's skiing a bunch with us.;)

Got me dreaming in the way back machine...my first Sunday Diner Group ride...heading out toward Farmington Hill...Tomac, Roll, Overend, T. Brown and the FLC team...get to the base of the hill and I'm behind Overend in front of Roll...I have 30 seconds to ponder this and I'm DROPPED...off the back...one of my favorite memories.

The pendelton still rallies around town, bigger than ever.

New news, someone, (company not named) installed a new hood yesterday, today a fire systems comapny was supposed to hook up a new sprinkler system. Sounds like somebody screwed up along the way. Also heard the majority of the damage is from water.

http://www.durangoherald.com/news/03...ws031212_3.jpg


A fire of undetermined origin forced the evacuation of a diner in downtown Durango early Tuesday. No one was injured.

The first firefighters on the scene found some smoke, but no flames at the Durango Diner when they arrived at 8:12 a.m., said Dave Abercrombie, spokesman for the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.

Flames were discovered in the wall above the grill and behind the hood, which had just been replaced and upgraded, Abercrombie said.

"Assistant Fire Marshal George Surmi has ruled out the hood or any cooking practices as the cause of the fire," Abercrombie said. "We hope to have a specific cause within the next few days."

Smoke, but no flames penetrated the attic above the diner and spread to businesses adjoining the eatery, located at 957 Main, Abercrombie said.

The architecture of the establishments on the west side of the 900 block of Main invites disaster, Abercrombie said. Built probably no later than the 1950s, the upper areas of the buildings would allow smoke or flames to easily spread north and south.

"I like to think of what we saved Tuesday," Abercrombie said. "If flames had gotten into the attic there was a potential for the whole block to become engaged."

Durango Diner employees said there was little warning before smoke entered the dining area just after 8 a.m.

"There were seven or eight people eating when smoke began coming into the dining area," said waitress Suzanne Davis, who has worked off and on at the diner for a couple of years.

Drew Phillips, who has cooked at the diner for 10 years, said his nose told him something was funny Monday.

"I could smell something like a new system," Phillips said. "Then this morning, the smell was real strong."

About a half-hour later, Phillips said, smoke began filtering into the diner from the roof near the refrigerator.

Patrons and employees abandoned the diner as firefighters arrived.

Donna Broad who, with her husband, Gary, has owned the diner for 24 years, had no explanation for the fire.

"It was a brand new ventilation system, just put in Sunday," Broad said. "The old system was grandfathered. We had brought the system up to code."

As for a reopening date, Broad said, "We'll open as soon as we can."

Five engines, a ladder truck and three medic units responded to the scene. Main Avenue was open for the Veterans Day parade that began at 11 a.m.